Seed, food companies say there is a market for the crop, but the varieties Prairie farmers are growing require fine tuning
Glacier FarmMedia – Hemp has had its ups and downs on the Prairies. Jeff Kostuik of Verve Seeds would like to see it get a better foothold, and he thinks new genetics, better tailored for western Canadian conditions and western Canadian markets, can help make that happen. “We’re a very small, yet mighty company … […] Read moreStories by Gord Leathers
Crop disease tags along on soybean’s coattails
‘Honeymoon’ period for producers is ending as diseases such as phytophthora root rot make inroads following soybean expansion
Glacier FarmMedia – The worst phytophthora infection that Laura Schmidt of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers has ever seen was just south of Souris. “Probably 25 per cent of the field was impacted,” the production specialist told field day attendees at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization near Melita. “One in four plants were dying off, […] Read more
Getting ahead of anthracnose in lentils
With lentil acreages expected to be up this year, getting on top of any anthracnose infestation early and with the latest tools should be top of mind for producers, says Kate Hadley, a marketing agronomist with Bayer. “Lentil acres are going to be up over last year,” Hadley said. “It seems like everyone’s seeding some […] Read more
Making potatoes friendly to soil health
Manitoba farms try new minimal soil disturbance strategies to improve the relationship between soil health and the potato sector
Glacier FarmMedia – Potatoes are a high-value crop and one of the world’s most important dietary staples. But when it comes to sustainability, they’ve got a hurdle to clear because there’s no escaping some level of soil disturbance when growing and harvesting. Soil health and minimized soil disturbance are major pillars in the push toward […] Read more
Seed potatoes early to avoid verticillium
Pushing a problem field to the front of the planting queue may reduce infection pressure later in the season
Verticillium wilt is a problem for a lot of crops in Manitoba, including canola, sunflowers and alfalfa. In potatoes, the fungus Verticillium dahlia is the main cause of potato early die complex. In a 2021 interview with the Co-operator, Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba soil scientist and main investigator with the Canadian Potato Early Dying […] Read more
Potato growers set up for fertigation success
Glacier FarmMedia – Potato producer Sheldon Wiebe, who farms near MacGregor, Man., can wax poetic about how production has evolved on his operation, J.P. Wiebe Ltd., since its inception in the mid-1960s. Like other Manitoba potato farmers, the introduction of irrigation is part of that story, but today the practice is about more than just […] Read more
Researchers push the prairie crop comfort zone
Rice in Manitoba was a disaster. In 2012, in the Banana Belt region of the province near Melita, the staff at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization (WADO) seeded a plot of dry rice to see if they could bring it to harvest. The project fit with their role in Manitoba’s agricultural sphere: risk the wreck […] Read more
